Who Killed Bambi?

Published to great acclaim in the original Swedish, Who Killed Bambi? weaves together a complex network of causality and consequences as it examines the aftermath of a sexual assault. Fagerholm's indicting, sharp prose leads the reader back and forth through time, abandoning linear narrative. This kaleidoscopic, elliptical approach shatters the facade of contemporary polite society, examining the sinister forces that attempt to maintain and protect the status quo in the years following a violent event that shocks an entire community.

Set in a fictional, affluent suburb of Helsinki, the main narrative follows Gusten Grippe, a successful realtor haunted by his role as one of the four teenage rapists--the only one to report the crime and admit his guilt. When, a decade afterward, an acquaintance plans to make a movie about what happened, Gusten attempts to atone for his past in the face of the community's stoic silence and misguided consideration for reputation. Released at the height of the #MeToo movement and translated into a dozen languages, Who Killed Bambi? remains highly relevant in a world grappling with the ubiquity of sexual violence, toxic masculinity, and gender discrimination.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Published: 03/17/2026
ISBN: 9780299355944
Pages: 176

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2026